Hope Is Never Lost
by Kat Ducat
Summary: "There's nothing I wouldn't do." All Pansy wants to do is repair her and Draco's relationship. When she finds out they don't have a relationship, she is determined to make him see that they should have one. There's a fine line between romance and friendship. T for small amounts of swearing.


_A/N: Written for the 100 Different Pairings Competition with 'jealous', But He's There: A Pansy Competition, and the Rebellion Slice of the Chinese Moon Festival Competition (because they're rebelling against Dumbledore et al)._

_Contains small amounts of swearing. Set during HBP._

)O(

From her seat at the Slytherin table, Pansy spied someone she dearly wanted to talk to.

"Draco, what have you been doing to yourself, you look terrible!" She sprung up from the table and rushed over to where Draco was standing a few yards away. She had not been able to eat as easily as usual in her worry over her boyfriend; Pansy had barely seen him in the last week.

"Keep it down, girl!" Draco snarled back at her, going paler than usual and turning his head in fear that anybody else had heard her. Pansy wanted to touch that beautiful, sharp face and make him feel better again, comfort him. Recently his temper had become worse and worse, making her desperate to find a way to fix it. Maybe it was she who was the problem.

Maybe he wanted to break up with her. Maybe he had his eyes on another girl.

As that thought popped into her mind, her suspicion was aroused. It was probably that Hermione Granger who wanted to trap him into going out with her. Everyone knew she was smart enough to do it, and Pansy reckoned that she'd never had a boyfriend. She swept her eyes over the Gryffindor table, looking to see if the other girl had come back at the same time.

Granger certainly was lonely, and Draco was such a great person...who wouldn't want him? Pansy looked back at her boyfriend, eyeing him up for signs of anything unusual.

He looked tired, with bloodshot, baggy eyes and a complexion that was far from healthy. His face had taken on a pasty pallor and there were highly visible creases on his forehead. With a sudden dismay, she realised he didn't look quite as good as she remembered. It had been a long time since they'd snogged and she was able to look at him so close up.

As he attempted to sit down, she stood up and put her hands on the table behind her, blocking his way. She hardly knew him anymore. It was time to give their relationship a breath of fresh air. She knew what she had to do.

"What are you doing, Pansy?" He seemed surprised by her sudden defiance. "Shove over, I want to eat."

"There are things more important that eating right now. Come with me." She grabbed him by the hand and turned, starting to walk towards the doors of the Great Hall.

For the first few seconds Draco was too surprised to react and offered no resistance. When he had regained use of his body however, he tore his hand away from hers and rubbed it as if it had burned him. He looked at her with a mixture of disgust and confusion, clear in the sharp features of his face.

"Leave me alone, you bitch! I don't want to talk to you."

Pansy turned around, bright-eyed but adamant.

"We need to talk about this...whatever this is!" she stepped closed to him, imploring him to see things her way. "We need to focus on where our relationship is heading. I don't want to lose you." She put her hand up to his cheek and stroked it, feeling the smooth bone just beneath the skin.

He slapped her hand away and took a step back, mortified.

"There is nothing to talk about. We don't have a relationship!"

"Of course we do, don't be silly." She let out a little laugh, hoping he was joking. His demeanour didn't support her hopes, so she continued, "We've been together ever since you took me out to the ball. Did I mention that was the best night of my life? The moon was so beautiful that evening; remember how we stared at it, holding hands and sitting on that bench?"

He scoffed, walking towards her purposefully. Quite a few people had turned around in their seats to watch the couple's argument; some were craning their heads all the way from the Gryffindor table in order to get a better view. One boy, a Ravenclaw, blatantly stood up to watch them, still casually eating his toast as if this was normal entertainment.

"Are you really so stupid as to not realise that this is not a relationship? I went out with you_ once_, and that was under pressure," he whispered menacingly, his face right up to hers.

"But we snogged. You always let me snog you."

"Snogging isn't all there is. Haven't you noticed that we never go out?"

"All Weasley and Brown do is snog, and they're together. I thought the reason we never go out was because you were busy," she lowered her voice to a whisper softer than his, "you know, working for the Dark Lord. I was the only girl who was ready to accept that you weren't going to be able to spend too much time with me. I just think we're falling apart. I've seen you looking at Granger—"

He snarled again. "You were right, we should go outside. Come on." Draco lashed out, gripping her forearm with his skeletal hand and forcing her to trot beside him as he exited the Hall.

When they were out on the grounds he released Pansy and rounded on her. She stared at him as if at a monster, terrified. Tears were slowly streaming down her cheeks but she didn't seem to notice them. The image of her Draco, ugly in his rage, transfixed her.

"Listen up you selfish bitch; I'm not going to repeat myself. In fact, we are never going to discuss this again. I just want to make things clear." He paced, breathing heavily.

"We are not, nor have ever been, 'together'. The Mudblood Granger means nothing to me other than the fact I would like to see her dead. Weasel and his girlfriend won't last longer than a week, and anyway, they're only doing it because they're too pathetic to find someone with something in common."

He was starting to relax. "I can't have a relationship right now. There's too much already—he wants me to—" Draco finally broke down. He turned his back on Pansy and crouched down on the grass, rocking himself back and forth with his head between his knees. Nothing, not even his reputation, mattered anymore. All his hard work would all fail and he would be dead. Maybe then he could have some peace.

As if approaching a frightened animal, Pansy approached Draco. She tiptoed to his side and sat down next to him. She could hear his heavy sobs, sobs he would be mortified about if it was anyone else who was sitting next to him. But, maybe, she could help.

He made no sign of displeasure when she put her arm around his shoulders and hugged gently. She had to treat him like the fragile, tortured soul he was. Softly, she said, "Shh, don't worry about it. Whatever happens, I'll be there for you."

"I don't want your help, you stupid bitch. I have to do it alone," he managed to say; though the venomous effect of his words was softened by the fact that his hiccups were separating some of the words, making them seem ridiculous.

Pansy had been called a lot of unpleasant things in her life; it was the effect of being who she was. She regretted none of those actions. Her character had toughened over time so that now, Draco's apparent feelings towards her meant nothing more than a weak opinion. Being a bitch was what defined her life. She didn't know how she'd survive if she went around being nice to people all the time. That scenario would be a nightmare to her.

"Shut up, Draco, you know you can't do anything alone. That's why you have Crabbe and Goyle. And me. Now tell me, what it is you need doing? Does he want you to kill someone?"

"He'll kill me if I tell anyone."

"He'll never know. You don't have to tell me_ everything_. Just what you want me to help out with. Out with it."

He raised his head a little to see Pansy looking at him with fierce determination.

If she couldn't be his girlfriend, she would damn well make sure that she was the best friend he had. Anyway, maybe she could persuade him to get back together when he was a little happier.

Hope can never be lost.

"All right, but I won't tell you what to do. I'll show you. There's a room on the seventh floor-"

He collected himself enough to start talking, and once he started he couldn't stop. The sun had set as a silent darkness descended on the couple. All of his secrets poured right out of Draco and into Pansy, who was listening thirstily.

When he had finished explaining, he bowed his head, as if ashamed.

"I shouldn't have told you all that."

"I'm glad you did."

"He might kill me tomorrow. Don't be surprised if you come up to me in the morning and in the bed you find-"

"Shush now. Let's go and start working on your 'project'. It's no point wasting time."

She stood up, dusting off her robes and started walking back to the castle, holding firmly onto Draco's hand, forcing him to walk alongside her.

"If we're lucky we can have the old man dead by next week."

"You'd really do that for me?"

"There's nothing I _wouldn't_ do."

The light of the full moon lit their way back across the grounds.

)O(

_Fin_


End file.
